The Vth IUCN World Congress on Protected Areas, or World
Parks Congress (WPC), convened in Durban, South Africa, from 8-17 September
2003. More than 2,700 participants attended the meeting, representing
governments and public agencies, international organizations, the private
sector, academic and research institutions, non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), and community and indigenous organizations. IUCN - The World
Conservation Union organizes the Congress every ten years to take stock of
the state of protected areas (PAs), appraise progress and setbacks, and
define the agenda for PAs for the next decade. The theme of the 2003 WPC was
"Benefits beyond Boundaries."

Over nine days of plenary and workshop sessions, side
events and field trips, participants addressed gaps within PA systems by
identifying under-represented ecosystems, defined tools to improve
management effectiveness, sought new legal arrangements, and identified
partnerships.

The Congress produced several outcomes. The three main
Congress Outputs are: the Durban Accord and Action Plan, consisting of a
high-level vision statement for PAs, and an outline of implementation
mechanisms; 32 recommendations, approved by workshops during the Congress;
and the Message to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Other
outcomes include: the United Nations (UN) List and State of the World’s
Protected Areas, a global report on the world’s PAs; a Protected Areas
Learning Network (PALNet), a web-based knowledge management tool for PA
managers and stakeholders; outputs on Africa’s PAs, including a
recommendation on Africa’s PAs and the Durban Consensus on African Protected
Areas for the New Millennium; and a handbook on Managing Protected Areas in
the 21st Century, which will collate case studies, models and lessons
learned during the Congress, and will constitute the "User Manual" for the
Durban Accord.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WORLD PARKS CONGRESS

FIRST WORLD CONFERENCE ON NATIONAL PARKS: The First
World Conference on National Parks (Seattle, US, 30 June - 7 July 1962)
aimed to establish a more effective international understanding of national
parks and to encourage further development of the national park movement
worldwide. Issues discussed included the effects of humans on wildlife,
species extinction, the economic benefits of tourism, and some practical
problems related to park management.

SECOND WORLD CONFERENCE ON NATIONAL PARKS: The
Second World Conference on National Parks (Yellowstone, US, 18-27 September
1972) addressed, inter alia: the effects of tourism on PAs; park
planning and management; and social, scientific and environmental problems
within national parks in wet tropical, arid and mountain regions.

THIRD WORLD CONGRESS ON NATIONAL PARKS: The Third
World Congress on National Parks (Bali, Indonesia, 11-22 October 1982)
focused on the role of PAs in sustaining society, and recognized 10 major
areas of concern, including the inadequacy of the existing global network of
terrestrial PAs, and the need for: more marine, coastal and freshwater PAs;
improved ecological and managerial quality of existing PAs; a system of
consistent PA categories to balance conservation and development needs; and
links with sustainable development.

FOURTH WORLD CONGRESS ON NATIONAL PARKS AND PROTECTED
AREAS: The Fourth World Congress on National Parks and Protected Areas:
Parks for Life (Caracas, Venezuela, 10-21 February 1992) emphasized the
relationship between people and PAs, and the need for, inter alia,
the identification of sites of importance for biodiversity conservation, and
a regional approach to land management. The Caracas Action Plan synthesized
the strategic actions for PAs over the decade 1992-2002 and provided a
global framework for collective action. The Plan aimed to extend the PA
network to cover at least 10% of each major biome by the year 2000.

SYMPOSIUM: PROTECTED AREAS IN THE 21ST CENTURY: FROM
ISLANDS TO NETWORKS: The symposium "Protected Areas in the 21st Century:
from Islands to Networks" (Albany, Australia, 25-29 November 1997) concluded
that PAs face significant challenges, including the need to: move from an
"island" to a "network" view of PAs; mainstream PAs into other areas of
public policy; manage PAs by, for and with local communities; and raise
management standards through capacity building. It produced five outputs:
the Road to Durban 2003 – recommendations for planning and implementing the
next WPC; imperatives for PAs; a campaign document for PAs – from islands to
networks; new directions for the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA);
and PAs and the CBD.

REGIONAL MEETINGS: Numerous regional meetings were
held in preparation for the WPC. At the West and Central Africa workshop (Kribi,
Cameroon, 27-31 January 2003), participants discussed the need for novel
financing and poverty alleviation mechanisms, an effective communications
system and the involvement of minority groups and women in decision making.

During the Fourth World Ranger Congress (Victoria,
Australia, 21-28 March 2003), IUCN and the International Ranger Federation
launched an initiative on "Protecting the Protectors: addressing the
increasing threats faced by rangers."

Concluding a series of four workshops, a Mediterranean
meeting (Murcia, Spain, 26-30 March 2003) considered different experiences
and defined Mediterranean specificities.

In South America, a regional forum on national parks and
PAs (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 26-28 March 2003) produced the Buenos Aires
Declaration, which stresses the protection and management of natural areas
as a component of human development agendas. In North America, a workshop
was held during the joint conference of the George Wright Society and the US
National Park Service on "Protecting our Diverse Heritage: the role of
parks, protected areas and cultural sites" (San Diego, US, 14-18 April
2003). In Central America, a regional forum was held (El Zamorano, Honduras,
27-31 July 2003), to discuss draft resolutions and recommendations for the
WPC.

WORKSHOP ON MOUNTAINS: A workshop on mountains was
held prior to the WPC (uKhahlamba-Drakensberg World Heritage site, South
Africa, 5-8 September 2003). Building on the 2002 International Year of
Mountains, the workshop covered issues relevant to mountain PA systems,
including: transboundary cooperation and peace parks; cultural and sacred
resource conservation; ecotourism; and fire and alien species. The workshop
approved a recommendation on strengthening mountain PAs as a key
contribution to sustainable mountain development. The recommendation was
acknowledged as part of the WPC recommendations by the WPC closing Plenary
on Wednesday, 17 September 2003.

REPORT OF THE MEETING

Under its overarching theme of "Benefits beyond Boundaries," the WPC held
plenary sessions from Monday to Wednesday, 8-10 September, and on Tuesday
and Wednesday, 16-17 September. The Plenary addressed: benefits beyond
boundaries; a briefing on the workshops; global partners for PAs; a focus on
Africa; and the Congress Outputs and their implementation.

Seven workshop streams were held from Thursday to Saturday, 11-13
September. Workshop participants met in plenaries and smaller break-out
groups to address: linkages in the landscape and seascape; building broader
support for PAs; PA governance; developing the capacity to manage PAs;
evaluating management effectiveness; building a secure financial future; and
building comprehensive PA systems. Three cross-cutting themes on marine
protected areas (MPAs), World Heritage, and communities and equity were also
addressed within the above workshop streams.

On Sunday and Monday 14-15 September, participants attended short courses
and field trips. Discussion groups on WPC recommendations, the Congress
Recommendations Committee and the drafting group on the Message to the CBD
also held informal meetings throughout the Congress. Drop-in sessions on the
Durban Accord and Action Plan were organized on Thursday and Friday, 11-12
September.

The following report outlines WPC discussions based on the agenda of the
Congress, and summarizes the main outcomes.

OPENING CEREMONY

On Monday, 8 September, Achim Steiner, IUCN Director General and WPC
Master of Ceremonies, welcomed all participants, and highlighted the
accomplishment in designating at least 10% of the earth’s surface as PAs.

Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa, drew attention to the UN
Millennium Declaration and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation,
identified poverty and under-development as major threats to nature
conservation, and commended the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)
for combining environmental and social goals.

HM Queen Noor, IUCN and Congress Patron, highlighted the role of
ecosystems in sustaining livelihoods, and of transboundary PAs in promoting
peace and security.

Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa and Congress Patron,
stressed the need to involve youth in PA management, and to consider PAs’
contribution to poverty alleviation. He said sustainable PAs require
partnerships.

A youth representative called for funding for youth programmes related to
conservation. Another youth representative stressed PAs’ contribution to the
economy, recreation, education, medicine and ecotourism, and called on
present generations to manage PAs better for the benefit of future
generations.

Ian Johnson, World Bank Vice President, read a statement on behalf of
James Wolfensohn, World Bank President. He emphasized three challenges for
PA management: ensuring that PAs are ecologically and socially sustainable;
providing adequate human and financial resources; and sharing the costs and
benefits of PAs equitably.

Zhu Guangyao, Vice Minister of China’s Environmental Protection
Administration, outlined his country’s efforts regarding PAs, including the
adoption of plans and regulations, international cooperation for
transboundary areas, and recognition of the relationship between PAs and
surrounding communities.

Len Good, Global Environment Facility (GEF), stressed that developing
countries and the poor depend on nature for their development, and expressed
the GEF’s commitment to strengthening the global PA network.

David Sheppard, IUCN, and WPC Secretary General, introduced the WPC
process, aims, organization and expected key outputs. He called for a focus
on issues of concern, including MPAs and the role of indigenous communities.

Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Society and Conservation International
(CI), presented a video on the challenges posed by global change at the
local level, highlighting that community initiatives can be used as
conservation models.

Angela Cropper, IUCN, recalled the appeal for an approach to PA
management that supports sustainable development and conservation, and
called for increased financial support and further protection of marine,
freshwater and dryland ecosystems.

Kenton Miller, WCPA Chair, emphasized the need to manage PAs
cooperatively. He said managers should use science and traditional knowledge
to maximize PAs’ value, and suggested adopting voluntary management
standards.

Klaus Töpfer presented on the state of the world’s PAs. He said that
although the total PA surface area has doubled in the last decade, some
geographical categories, notably oceans and lake systems, are still largely
under-represented. Underlining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
regarding poverty eradication and environmental sustainability, he called
for quantitative targets and timetables.

Bob Scholes, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), presented a progress
report on the Southern African MA. He explained that biodiversity is a
necessary condition for ecosystem services, and said ecotourism is a
quantifiable index of biodiversity’s economic value.

Queen Noor noted that the future of PAs is uncertain due to physical,
social and political change.

During a panel discussion, moderator Vuyo Mbuli, South Africa, presented
a video on future challenges and scenarios for PA management.

On behalf of Sayyaad Soltani, Iran, Aghaghia Rahimzadeh, IUCN, described
the traditional and sustainable livelihood of her pastoral nomadic
community, and urged participants to help build capacity and preserve
cultural heritage.

Stressing the importance of conservation beyond PAs, André van der Zande,
Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries, introduced
the concept of ecological networks. Ernesto Enkerlin Hoeflich, President of
Mexico’s National Commission on Protected Areas, suggested using a
percentage of PA revenues for conservation purposes. John Makombo, Uganda
Wildlife Authority, advocated the empowerment of local communities to
generate sustainable revenues from PAs.

Estherine Lisinge Fotabong, World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), noted
that conserving PAs as biological islands could result in local people
losing rights and control over their resources.

BRIEFING ON THE WORKSHOPS: On Wednesday, 10 September, Chair David
Sheppard opened the briefing on the workshops, and encouraged participants
to comment on the drafts of the Durban Accord and Action Plan, and WPC
recommendations during workshop discussions.

Julia Carabias, Mexico’s former Minister of Environment, presented the
goals of the stream on developing capacities for PA management, and urged
participants to recommend strategies, methodologies, and tools to achieve
them.

Mohamed Bakarr, WCPA, outlined the aims and organization of the stream on
building comprehensive PA systems. He said the workshop should identify ways
to achieve a representative and comprehensive PA system at all levels, set
targets, and generate funding.

Carlos Quintela, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), introduced the
stream on building a secure financial future, and suggested that discussions
focus on how to generate and distribute funding for PAs.

Peter Bridgewater, Ramsar Convention Secretary General, introduced the
stream on linkages in the landscape and seascape. He stressed the importance
of management beyond PA boundaries, and warned participants of the possible
negative consequences of building corridors. Jeffrey McNeely, IUCN,
introduced the stream on building broader support for PAs, recommending that
participants focus on: the non-material values of PAs; PAs and local and
indigenous communities; supporting PAs during violent conflict; urban
outreach strategies; building political support for PAs; and communication.

Marc Hockings, WCPA, said the stream on evaluating management
effectiveness would explore ways to measure: the state of PAs and
ecosystems; progress achieved; the impact of PAs on communities; response to
threats; and financial resource requirements.

Ashish Kothari, Kalpavriksh, presented the goals of the cross-cutting
theme on communities and equity. He emphasized the need to fully recognize
indigenous peoples’ rights in the development of conservation strategies.

Charles Ehler, US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
introduced the MPA cross-cutting theme by recalling related commitments from
the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). He said issues for
consideration include how to, inter alia: increase the effectiveness of MPA
management; integrate MPA management into marine and coastal governance; and
conserve marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

Introducing the World Heritage cross-cutting theme, Natajaran Ishwaran,
UNESCO, noted that site managers often fail to recognize benefits from World
Heritage, and recommended the incorporation of relevant training into PA
capacity building.

GLOBAL PARTNERS FOR PROTECTED AREAS: On Tuesday, 16 September, the
Plenary held panel discussions on tourism, business and PAs, and on
extractive industries, under the general theme "Global Partners for PAs."

Tourism, business and PAs: Cheryl Carolus, South Africa Tourism, chaired
the session. Mike Leach, Tribal Chief of the Tit’qet St’at’imc Nation,
called on participants to work cooperatively with indigenous peoples to
protect PAs by drawing on their traditional knowledge and customary laws.

Les Carlisle, Conservation Corporation Africa, presented a tourism model
applied across a range of land tenure systems, the key points of which
include internal audits, sustainable community development, environmental
awareness and biodiversity conservation. Faustine Kobero, Conservation
Corporation Africa, described the benefits of the company’s cooperation with
a Tanzanian foundation to ensure biodiversity conservation, and highlighted
returns to communities, in terms of employment generation and development
projects.

Debra Epstein, Canon, outlined Canon’s approach to social and
environmental responsibility. Hans Grabias, Krombacher Brewery, presented
the Krombacher rainforest campaign. Highlighting the campaign’s success, he
noted that partnership with the public sector had failed, and warned that
over-regulation can jeopardize cooperation.

Bill Jackson, IUCN, moderated the panel discussion. Stressing that
tourism should not be the only strategy for PA sustainability, Penelope
Figgis, Australian Conservation Foundation, noted significant improvements
in planning, partnerships, and education for PA management. Eugenio Yunis,
World Tourism Organization, said sound national policy is a prerequisite for
tourism’s environmental and socioeconomic sustainability. Calling for
multi-stakeholder and community involvement, he encouraged companies to
voluntarily develop their own initiatives.

Carolus identified improving employment opportunities as a main priority.
Robert Hepworth, UNEP, stressed that, since tourism is a large user of
environmental resources and a potential polluter, all its aspects need to be
closely monitored. He advocated certification for tourism companies.

Noting BP’s operations in IUCN-designated areas and ecologically
sensitive areas, Greg Coleman, BP, outlined BP’s approach to environmental
protection. Stressing the impact of mining on poverty, the environment, and
indigenous rights, Joji Carino, President of the Tebtebba Foundation, called
for binding minimum international standards and benchmarks to measure the
progress of partnerships.

Adrian Loader, Shell, highlighted Shell’s commitment to improve operating
practices, and to report publicly on its activities in IUCN designated PAs.
Sir Robert Wilson, Chair of the International Council on Mining and Minerals
(ICMM) said ICMM includes 15 of the largest oil and gas companies, and noted
that the dialogue between ICMM and IUCN had resulted in a commitment not to
explore or mine in World Heritage sites. He highlighted problems regarding
the consistency of, and the scientific basis for, the IUCN PA classification
system.

Stressing the need for targets for the next decade, Adrian Phillips, WCPA,
outlined challenges for the extractive industry, including commitments: not
to extract resources from PAs in IUCN categories I-IV; not to seek to
overturn national legislation prohibiting mining activities in PAs; and to
accept the IUCN PA categorization.

During the ensuing discussion, participants highlighted over-mining and
human rights violations in various countries. Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, Costa
Rica’s Environment Minister, reported on the prohibition of oil drilling and
mining in Costa Rica. Highlighting human rights violations by Shell in
Nigeria, a participant expressed concern that Congress’ debates have been
dominated by mining industries. Another participant questioned the
legitimacy of the ICMM-IUCN dialogue, noting that no governments are
included. Noting that extractive activities drive government corruption in
many countries, Milne stressed the need for local communities’ prior
informed consent (PIC). Wilson said a company can engage in dialogue with a
local community only where national legislation provides for local
communities’ PIC.

Keynote presentations: Through a video presentation, Emeka Anyaoku,
President of WWF International, stressed the need to, inter alia, extend the
international PA network, and increase training and infrastructure.

Mohamed Bakarr presented a video on Protecting Africa’s Natural Heritage.
Highlighting Africa’s social and environmental vulnerability, he described
ongoing community projects.

HM King Goodwill Zwelethini of the Zulu Nation advocated a holistic
approach towards development and the environment, and stressed the need to
incorporate indigenous viewpoints in management.

HM Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, King of Akyem Abuakwa and Presidential
Advisor on Environment, Ghana, highlighted the need for livelihood
alternatives, leadership at all levels, education, partnerships, and
financial resources.

Marc Ravalomanana, President of Madagascar, highlighted his country’s
commitment to adopting a strategy to conserve the natural heritage and
ensure fair benefit sharing, and to supporting NEPAD.

Claude Martin, WWF Director General, recognized progress achieved in
Africa since the last WPC, and offered a "Gift to the Earth" certificate to
Charles Rabotoarison, Ministry of the Environment of Madagascar, and Pape
Diouf, Minister of Fisheries of Senegal, who represented the Senegalese
President Abdoulaye Wade.

Future of Protected Areas in Africa: Achim Steiner moderated the first
panel discussion. Pape Diouf outlined Senegal’s decision to create four new
MPAs, and stressed the need to demonstrate to local communities their
contribution to poverty alleviation. He called for support for the
Sub-Regional Programme for the Conservation of Coastal and Marine Zones.

Murphy Morobe, South African Financial Commission and Fiscal Commission,
noted that education is the biggest challenge in South Africa, and
highlighted the significance of the World Trade Organization’s Cancún
negotiations for development in Africa.

Patrick Bergin, African Wildlife Foundation, emphasized the different
value of propositions concerning PAs, depending upon the livelihood
strategies of surrounding communities. Rabotoarison called for donor support
for conservation and a stronger institutional framework. Michael Rands,
BirdLife International, emphasized the need to link conservation and
development, and ensure their integration with other policy goals.

Martin stressed that addressing financial constraints requires capacity
building, and warned that, although conservation improves conditions in the
long term, it is inadequate for short-term poverty alleviation.

Crispian Olver, South African Ministry of Environment, moderated the
second panel discussion. Ahmed Djoghlaf, UNEP, outlined the NEPAD’s
objectives and ongoing activities, stressing that capacity building is the
key to its implementation.

Nicholas Robinson, IUCN, elaborated on the African Convention on the
Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, approved in July 2003 by the
Assembly of the African Union, noting that it offers a framework for
consistent environmental policies, capacity building and indigenous
communities’ involvement.

Murphy Morobe introduced the African Protected Areas Initiative and
called for a collective approach and governmental responsibility.

Presenting on the West Africa MPAs Action Plan, Luc Hoffman, WWF, said
the main challenge is communication and cooperation with the outside world.

John Kachamila, Minister for Environmental Affairs of Mozambique,
stressed the benefits of raising awareness about PAs, and advocated
expanding transboundary PA agreements.

Olver closed the session by calling for a pro-people approach to
conservation.

SYMPOSIA

BENEFITS TO PEOPLE: On Tuesday, 9 September, WPC participants
addressed benefits to people, under the chairmanship of Hamid Zakri,
Director of the UN University.

Ian Johnson, World Bank Vice President, said the current system of
financial valuation fails to capture all biodiversity benefits, and
advocated the valuation of ecological services and the recognition of direct
benefits, such as employment generation and amenity exploitation. Regarding
PA governance, he emphasized the need to reduce corruption, integrate
conservation into other policies, and increase transparency.

Carlos Rodriguez noted that, besides their intrinsic value, PAs in Costa
Rica provide important economic services, including water for consumption
and energy generation, and ecotourism.

Emeka Anyaoku, President of WWF International, emphasized that PAs are
crucial to Africa’s future, noting that resources in Africa are decreasing
rapidly due to escalating poverty, illness and conflict.

Speaking on behalf of Eduardo Braga, Government of Amazonas, Brazil,
Virgilio Viana spoke of PA management in a context where the majority of the
population live in urban areas, and called for funding to establish and
manage PAs in developing countries.

Eulalie Bashige Balihurya, Director General of the Congolese Institute
for the Conservation of Nature, highlighted the effects of armed conflicts
on PAs, including deforestation, poaching and assaults on park rangers, and
emphasized the need for sustained funding for park management during
conflicts.

Hamdallah Zedan, CBD Executive Secretary, identified future challenges,
including: involving local people in PA management; integrating PAs in
broader landscape and seascape planning processes; creating markets for
ecosystem and PA products and services; and providing funding for PAs. He
stressed that PAs can be tools for achieving the CBD objectives, the MDGs
and WSSD targets.

Irene van Lippe-Biesterfeld, Princess of the Netherlands, highlighted
PA’s role in restoring humans’ relationship with nature.

During a panel discussion, moderated by Peter Bridgewater, Ramsar
Convention Secretary General, Luz María de la Torre, indigenous
representative, said indigenous peoples are no longer excluded. Thomas
Lovejoy, President of The Heinz Center, stressed the need to consider PA
benefits at all levels. Rili Hawari Djohani, The Nature Conservancy,
highlighted the difficulty of advocating long-term benefits from PAs, and
managing the expectations of people living in and around PAs. Alan
Latourelle, Parks Canada, emphasized the need to engage all communities in
PA management to develop a common ecological and social vision.

Aroha Te Pareake Mead, IUCN Counselor representing indigenous peoples,
stated that the displacement and cultural alienation of indigenous peoples
are the legacy of PAs created without local peoples’ consent. She noted that
benefits are minimal when indigenous communities do not manage licensing and
concessions in PAs.

MANAGING WITH CHANGE: On Tuesday, 9 September, WPC participants addressed
"Managing with change," under the Chairmanship of Mohamed Valli Moosa.

Claude Martin, WWF Director General, presented on the effects of climate
change on PAs, and called for: a switch from coal to clean power; energy
efficiency measures; adequate resource transfer; and a broader scientific
knowledge base.

Kristalina Georgieva, World Bank, said key drivers of change include
demographic and urban transition, income growth and globalization.

Describing how PA management is affected by global change, Cristián
Samper, Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, said
successful PA management requires the empowerment of local communities,
access to new markets, and conflict resolution.

Kheng Lian Koh, National University of Singapore, presented the history
of environmental cooperation among Asian countries, highlighting the
Agreement on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

Marija Zupancic-Vicar, WCPA, explained how the move to market-driven
economies and private ownership affected PAs in Central and Eastern Europe,
noting that the integrity of PAs was maintained in most countries.

Steve McCormick, President of The Nature Conservancy, described an
integrated vision of PAs, and called for an ecosystem approach that
incorporates ecological and economic needs.

Stressing the benefits of the IUCN PA categorization, Adrian Phillips,
WCPA, highlighted the need to integrate excluded groups and address
technical questions. John Turner, US Bureau of Oceans and International
Environmental and Scientific Affairs, outlined a number of positive
conservation principles, including protection beyond PA boundaries,
science-based decision making, partnership building, good governance.

Jeffrey McNeely, IUCN, moderated the panel discussion. Juan Carlos
Gambarotta, Vice President of the International Ranger Federation, called
for recognition of the dangers facing rangers. Ton van der Zon, Dutch
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, called for wider PA networks, good governance,
poverty alleviation strategies, access and benefit sharing, and addressing
corruption and illegal resource use. Graeme Kelleher, WCPA, stressed the
need for a zoning process and integrated ecosystem management. Calling for
partnerships, Ratu Osea Gavidi, President of the Fiji Tourism Resource
Owners Association, noted the link between development and conservation.

Participants raised questions regarding, inter alia, the role of PAs in
protecting freshwater ecosystems, the legal implications of zoning the Earth
as a PA, and the involvement of recreational and user groups in PAs.

COMMUNITY AND PARKS: On Wednesday, 10 September, WPC participants
addressed the issue of community and parks in a session chaired by Yolanda
Kakabadse, IUCN President.

Bob Debus, Attorney General and Minister for the Environment of New South
Wales, Australia, highlighted the benefits of stakeholder involvement in PA
management and biodiversity conservation, including increased public
support, employment generation, and reconciliation with aboriginal peoples.
He cautioned against inflexible prescriptions and decision making without
community support.

Otimio Castillo Infante, on behalf of Sebastião Haji Manchinery, General
Coordinator of the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon
Basin, outlined the conflicts created by the occupation and exploitation of
the Amazon, and called for recognition of indigenous rights, co-management
and participation, and a ban on disruptive extractive activities.

Francesco Bandarin, UNESCO, introduced the World Heritage Convention and
the Man and Biosphere Programme. Noting that biosphere reserves have become
places for people and nature, Walter Erdelen, UNESCO, said that they
mobilize communities, provide neutral ground for cooperation within and
between countries, and promote biodiversity research. He called for
education on sustainable development.

Ashish Kothari, Kalpavriksh, presented the community conserved areas (CCAs)
concept, noting that CCAs: originate from traditional common resources
property management; cover a wide range of ecosystems, sacred and cultural
areas outside officially designated PAs; and provide livelihood, economic
opportunities, and ecological services. He called for further financial,
human and technological support, and the recognition of community rights.

Cláudio Maretti, IUCN, called for the integration of indigenous
conservation practices and community management structures into official
systems. Stressing indigenous peoples’ rights to self-determination and
land, and the problem of forced displacement, Luz María de la Torre,
indigenous representative, presented the Indigenous Peoples’ Declaration to
the WPC, highlighting: a rights-based approach to sustainable development
and conservation; indigenous peoples’ free PIC as a prerequisite to
establishing PAs; and full indigenous participation in PA management.

During a panel discussion on parks with or without people, Jannie
Lasimbang, indigenous representative, outlined the negative effects of
depriving indigenous peoples of their lands for conservation, including the
loss of livelihoods, and stressed the economic advantages of entrusting PA
monitoring and enforcement to indigenous communities.

Grazia Borrini-Feyerabend, IUCN, stressed that a dominant and culturally
biased perception of nature should not damage other cultures. Gustavo Suárez
de Freitas, Director of Peru’s National System of PAs, emphasized the need
to: use certain PAs restrictively; acknowledge the constraints posed by PAs
to indigenous communities; focus on conservation priorities; and reach
agreements and share benefits with local communities with rights to the
land.

Stating that traditional claims of minority groups should not undermine
national economic and security interests, Richard Leakey, Eden Wildlife
Trust, opposed politicizing conservation through the indigenous issue. Kai
Schmidt-Soltau, German Society for Technical Cooperation - GTZ, emphasized
the social costs of conservation and called for either improving
resettlement standards of people excluded from PAs, or ruling out
resettlement as a conservation strategy.

Rejoice Mabudafhasi, South African Deputy Minister of Environmental
Affairs and Tourism, introduced a video showing the benefits of a
gender-equitable approach to PA management.

WORKING AT SCALE: On Wednesday, 10 September, WPC participants
addressed "Working at scale," under the chairmanship of Gwen Mahlangu, South
African Member of Parliament, and Trevor Sandwith, Cape Action for People
and the Environment. John Briceno, Deputy Prime Minister of Belize,
introduced the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor Initiative, a regional
effort promoting conservation, sustainable development and poverty
alleviation. He called for greater community participation and standardized
conservation methodologies.

Describing the benefits of a seamless park network, Fran Mainella, US
National Park Service Director, called for conservation beyond PA
boundaries, an emphasis on ecosystem integrity, and international
partnerships.

Mohamed Valli Moosa, South African Minister of Environmental Affairs and
Tourism, described the establishment of a transfrontier PA between South
Africa and Mozambique. He said that strong political commitment on both
sides helped overcome problems emerging from: the presence of military and
agricultural fences obstructing animal movements; abandoned mines; illegal
immigration; and sovereignty concerns.

Gustavo Fonseca, CI, emphasized the role of corridors in reducing the
vulnerability of isolated PAs. He identified infrastructure development as a
cause of biodiversity loss, and stressed the need to conduct threat analysis
and generate incentives for conservation.

Mike Fay, WCS, introduced the Congo Basin Forest Partnership, and said
challenges include building infrastructure and human capacity, and
increasing public awareness.

Identifying oceans as primary life support systems, Sylvia Earle, CI
Executive Director, called for the establishment of MPAs and for an
increased understanding of marine ecosystems.

Steven Sanderson, WCS, moderated a panel discussion on corridor
initiatives. Hemanta Raj Mishra, Sian Development Bank, stressed that the
development of transnational corridors is not only a conservation issue but
also involves political, social and economic concerns.

Hartmut Vogtmann, President of the German Federal Agency for Nature
Conservation, presented on the establishment of a European green belt.

Nick Hanley, European Commission, presented Natura 2000, the main EU
programme for PAs.

Juan Carlos Godoy Herrera, WCPA, advocated the establishment of PA
networks at different scales, and stressed the need to involve local
communities, create international standards for PA management, and develop
national mechanisms to communicate best practices.

Jeffrey McNeely, IUCN, stressed the need to strengthen the ecological
viability of PAs by increasing coverage and connectivity, and called for
political unity, local support for conservation, and international
partnerships.

WORKSHOP STREAMS

Seven workshop streams were held from Thursday to Saturday, 11-13
September. Workshop participants met in workshop plenaries and break-out
groups to address: linkages in the landscape and seascape; building broader
support for PAs; PA governance; developing the capacity to manage PAs;
evaluating management effectiveness; building a secure financial future; and
building comprehensive PA systems. The final workshop plenaries adopted
recommendations, which were acknowledged by the closing Plenary on
Wednesday, 17 September.

LINKAGES IN THE LANDSCAPE AND SEASCAPE: This stream examined
ecological and socio-cultural linkages at different scales, and investigated
the application of the ecosystem approach to PA management and governance.
Special emphasis was placed on: linkages for MPAs; integrated coastal
management; bioregional approaches; and transboundary conservation.

Participants attended sessions on: the adaptive response of conservation
to climate change; linkages design and restoration; community conservation
issues; planning linkages in the landscape; protecting landscape and
seascape - IUCN categories V, World Heritage Cultural Landscape and other
designations; the freshwater issue; and benefits of MPA networks for
fisheries and endangered species - experiences and innovation in scaling up
to build networks.

Other sessions focused on: the international game board; creating
coexistence between humans and wildlife; integrating biodiversity
conservation and mining into land-use planning and management strategies;
and implementing MPA networks to sustain the world’s largest marine
ecosystems.

Participants acknowledged the inextricable natural and cultural linkages
in landscapes and seascapes. Because many PAs exist as fragments in
disturbed or degraded areas, delegates recommended that PA management be set
in broader landscape and seascape management, and opined that the diversity
of ecological landscapes must be matched with a diversity of institutional
frameworks.

Participants agreed that corridors are beneficial to conservation areas.
They stressed the need to consider ecological and evolutionary processes and
to recognize the value of lowland habitats, and concluded that the ecosystem
approach must encapsulate PA management issues.

Delegates stressed the need for additional funding through new
non-conservation funds, and for increased understanding of, and emphasis on,
the linkages and benefits from development, politics, and socioeconomics.
Noting that the protected landscape and seascape approach can provide a
framework for sustainable development, participants called for greater
emphasis on linkages with and between freshwater ecosystems, and on large
marine ecosystems and land-sea linkages. A main conclusion drawn from the
workshop was that knowledge of linkages in their various aspects must be
enhanced, and that a dialogue is needed between all partners, including
IUCN’s WCPA and Commission on Ecosystem Management.

The stream approved six recommendations on: integrated landscape
management to support PAs; policy linkages between relevant international
conventions and programmes in integrating PAs in the wider landscape and
seascape; a global network to support the development of transboundary
conservation initiatives; preventing and mitigating human-wildlife
conflicts; PAs, mining and energy; and PAs, freshwater and integrated river
basin management (IRBM) frameworks. Another key output of the workshop
stream was a 10-point action plan aimed at implementing these
recommendations.

BUILDING BROADER SUPPORT FOR PROTECTED AREAS: The workshop stream
on building broader support for PAs aimed at strengthening existing support
and mobilizing important new constituencies for all PA categories.

Participants addressed: building cultural support for PAs; working with
neighbors: PAs and local communities; supporting PAs in times of violent
conflict; urban outreach strategies for PA agencies; building support from
new constituencies; building political support for PAs; and communication as
a tool for building support for PAs.

The stream concluded that significant social, economic and environmental
changes are posing many challenges to PAs, and identified the need for
broader support from numerous interest groups to ensure PAs’ survival.
Participants agreed on further work on a 10-year global multi-stakeholder
initiative to build broader support for PAs, including action at global,
regional, national and site levels. They approved recommendations on:
cultural and spiritual values of PAs; cities and PAs; peace, conflict and
PAs; poverty and PAs; a strategic agenda for communication, education and
public awareness; and tourism as a vehicle for conservation and support of
PAs.

PROTECTED AREA GOVERNANCE: The workshop stream on PA governance
aimed to review different PA governance models, discuss key governance
issues, evaluate good governance, and provide guidance for decision makers
in the future. Participants addressed a range of issues, including:
international designation and global governance; high seas governance;
customary law; regional lessons learned in PA governance; CCAs; mobile
peoples and conservation; transboundary PAs; NGOs and PA governance; private
PAs; the role of legal frameworks in globalization and decentralization;
co-managed PAs; integrating MPA management with coastal and ocean
governance; the role of MPAs in sustainable fisheries; community
empowerment; and large-scale governance systems.

Synthesis sessions were held on good PA governance, governance types,
communities, equity and PAs, and Congress Outputs.

Three recommendations were adopted on: a global network to support the
development of transboundary conservation initiatives; good governance of
PAs; and recognizing and supporting the diversity of governance types for
PAs.

DEVELOPING THE CAPACITY TO MANAGE PROTECTED AREAS: Recognizing the
need to improve capacity at every level to manage PAs adaptively, the
workshop on developing the capacity to manage PAs aimed at determining what
skills, attributes and support systems are needed for PA institutions,
decision makers and practitioners.

Participants identified various factors critical to capacity development,
including strong institutions, legal frameworks, planning and management,
public participation, and public awareness and support. Regarding
institutional structures, participants noted an excessive centralization in
PA management and planning, and emphasized that PA concerns must be
incorporated into regional land-use planning. They identified the need for
adaptive management to enable practitioners to respond to contextual factors
and foster ground level initiative.

Participants reviewed various mechanisms to enhance stakeholder
participation and recommended public access to information and standardized
national participation procedures. Participants also acknowledged the value
of community knowledge, and the need to build local communities’ capacities.
Regarding the development of human resources, participants called for
adequate long-term staffing, the allocation of PA revenues to capacity
development, and the adoption of global competency standards for PA staff.
Recognizing the potential for capacity building through networks,
participants called for: strong networks; sub-regional communication
channels; international cooperation for capacity building; and information
access for PA managers.

The workshop approved three recommendations relating to: strengthening
institutional and societal capacities for PA management; strengthening
individual and group capacities for PA management; and the PALNet.

EVALUATING MANAGEMENT EFFECTIVENESS: The aim of this workshop
stream was to present a comprehensive examination of the status of tools for
evaluating management effectiveness, including principles, methods and
current issues. This goal acknowledged the importance of assessing how
successful PA management strategies are at achieving the objectives of
conserving biodiversity and generating benefits beyond boundaries.

Participants focused on: monitoring and evaluation models; management
effectiveness indicators for local communities; social, economic and
management indicators; threats, such as invasive species and wildlife trade;
evaluating the effectiveness of the IUCN categories system; exploring PA
certification; and the application of evaluation approaches at different
scales.

Participants highlighted the need for an enabling environment, partial
harmonization of standards and indicators, and robust, rigorous and
scientifically sound methodologies. They also stressed the importance of
reporting evaluation results, integrating management effectiveness
evaluations into all levels of PA management and planning, and incorporating
traditional knowledge and social and cultural elements into evaluations.
They advocated the application of ecological integrity as a critical
component in management effectiveness evaluations. Regarding threats to PAs,
participants stressed that: threats occur at multiple spatial and temporal
scales; there are commonalities in threats across PAs; and some current and
emerging threats are under-recognized. Participants supported the IUCN
category system, although some implementation problems were identified.

The workshop stream approved recommendations on management effectiveness
evaluation to support PA management, and on the IUCN PA management
categories. Participants recommended recognizing, in the Durban Accord and
in the Message to the CBD, the significance to PA management of monitoring,
evaluating and reporting.

BUILDING A SECURE FINANCIAL FUTURE: This stream aimed at
highlighting the challenges and opportunities of developing sustainable
finance solutions for PAs and PA systems. Addressing a range of financial
arrangements and options for generating revenue, with emphasis on the
development of a business approach to PA management, participants attended
sessions on the policy context and institutional arrangements for financing
PAs, and on applications of sustainable PA financing. Concurrent break-out
groups addressed: trusts and endowment funds; World Heritage status as a
tool for strengthening sustainable financing mechanisms; building a complex
portfolio to finance MPA networks sustainably; the role of communities in
the sustainable financing of PAs; marketing PA ecosystem services;
tourism-based revenue generation; the role of private sector partnerships in
supporting PAs; forging effective partnerships with oil and gas companies;
conservation incentive agreements; debt relief and conservation finance;
capacity building; and business planning.

Participants stressed the need to diversify and stabilize the financial
flows to PAs and biodiversity conservation. They also supported removing
policy and institutional barriers to sustainable financing solutions, and
expanding partnerships. Participants adopted two recommendations, on
financial security for PAs, and on private sector funding for PAs.

BUILDING COMPREHENSIVE PROTECTED AREA SYSTEMS: The objectives of
this stream were to: review the rationale for building comprehensive PA
systems; assess the status of global PA coverage with a focus on
terrestrial, mountain, marine, and freshwater systems and on poorly
represented biomes; identify gaps in PA systems and ways to address them;
and address global change factors and best practice for PA design.

The workshop stream included sessions on the world database on PAs;
terrestrial biodiversity; strategies and tools for regional and national
approaches to building comprehensive MPA networks; data development
strategies for a global freshwater gap analysis; global change; decision
support tools for conservation planning; and the cost of effective PA
systems.

Separate sessions also focused on: Africa and Eurasia; the Americas; the
Asia-Pacific region; methodologies for assessing gaps in the protection of
freshwater biodiversity; strategies towards a comprehensive global gap
analysis; and wilderness and landscape linkages for biodiversity
conservation.

Participants agreed that a concerted effort is needed to ensure that the
global PA system is comprehensive, adequate and representative. Key messages
included that the global, regional, and national PA networks are far from
complete, and that a focus on threatened species and globally important
sites, habitats, and realms, including the marine realm, is required.

Noting that scarce conservation resources demand the strategic selection
of new PAs, participants urged nations to consider biodiversity-based
targets, particularly threatened biodiversity, when determining future
priorities for PA network establishment. Participants agreed that, since
biodiversity is of global importance, current management shortfalls,
particularly in developing countries, and the future costs associated with
establishing and managing comprehensive global PA systems, should be a
global responsibility. Participants called for cooperation with local
communities and other sectors to improve PA coverage.

Stressing that a comprehensive global PA system must incorporate the
potential vagaries of biophysical change, especially climate change,
participants concluded that anticipated changes should be addressed when
planning comprehensive PA systems.

The stream approved recommendations on building comprehensive and
effective PA systems, and climate change and PAs.

WORKSHOP CROSS-CUTTING THEMES

Three themes on MPAs, World Heritage, and communities and equity cut
across the workshop streams, from Thursday to Saturday, 11-13 September.

MARINE PROTECTED AREAS: The cross-cutting theme on MPAs aimed at
providing key operational tools and identifying programmes to achieve the
WSSD target to establish a representative network of MPAs by 2012. An
emphasis was placed on: improving MPA management effectiveness to protect
biodiversity and increase the flow of benefits to communities; strengthening
MPAs to enhance living marine resources and maintain ecosystem function;
building resilient MPA networks; integrating MPAs in marine and coastal
governance; and expanding MPAs in the high seas and exclusive economic
zones.

Participants addressed the MPA cross-cutting theme during sessions on:
high seas governance; strategies and tools for regional and national
approaches to building comprehensive MPA networks; benefits of MPA networks
for fisheries and endangered species; building a complex portfolio to
finance MPA networks sustainably; evaluating MPA management effectiveness;
the role of MPAs in sustainable fisheries; principles and practices to
integrate MPA management with coastal and ocean governance; incorporating
resilience into MPA design and management; and implementing MPA networks to
sustain the world’s large marine ecosystems.

Participants in discussions on the marine cross-cutting theme
acknowledged that MPAs benefit marine ecosystems and support sustainable
fisheries. They also stressed the need to: act urgently to protect and
restore ocean health and productivity; integrate MPAs into wider coastal and
ocean governance; identify and share the benefits and costs of MPA
establishment and management; increase industry engagement in marine
conservation; establish at least five ecologically significant and globally
representative high seas MPAs by 2008; increase the number of marine and
coastal areas managed in MPAs to achieve the 2012 WSSD goal; design MPAs in
such a way as to increase their resilience in the face of global change; and
substantially improve MPA management effectiveness and increase resources
for management capacity, evaluation, and sustainable conservation.

Participants approved two recommendations, one on a global system of MPA
networks, the other on protecting marine biodiversity and ecosystem
processes through MPAs beyond national jurisdiction.

WORLD HERITAGE: Discussions on the World Heritage theme aimed at
identifying ways to capitalize on PAs of outstanding universal value to
build awareness and support, and at assessing their characteristics, needs
and potential. Key areas considered included: assessing the effectiveness of
the World Heritage Convention and the management of World Heritage sites;
addressing the gaps in the global system of PAs through the Convention;
tackling World Heritage issues specific to Africa; and building on the
experience of conservation financing for World Heritage sites.

WPC participants considered the theme during sessions on: management
effectiveness evaluation; World Heritage as an international tool for
conservation cooperation; ways to build political support for World
Heritage; a draft World Heritage training strategy presentation; supporting
PAs in times of political turmoil; using global conventions and programmes
to build support for PAs; international designations and global governance;
World Heritage partnerships in sustainable tourism; the impacts of
insurgency on World Heritage sites; using World Heritage to link nature and
culture; the World Heritage status as a tool for strengthening sustainable
financing mechanisms; protecting World Heritage sites in a multiple-use
environment; protecting landscapes and seascapes through World Heritage
designation; fostering attachment to heritage; and World Heritage sites and
transboundary conservation.

A major recommendation emerging from discussions was the recognition that
the World Heritage Convention is an effective framework for implementing
conservation strategies. Participants also stressed the need to: better
integrate the Convention with international, regional and national
conservation instruments; finalize the assessment of potential World
Heritage sites; achieve universal membership of the Convention; carry out a
system-wide assessment of the recurrent operating costs of managing natural
and mixed World Heritage sites; use World Heritage sites to attract and
build support for PAs; strengthen independent and reactive monitoring
through better guidelines and criteria; explore a possible certification
system; and ensure the involvement of affected communities in all stages of
World Heritage conservation.

The World Heritage theme adopted one recommendation on the World Heritage
Convention.

COMMUNITIES AND EQUITY: The theme of communities, equity and PAs
aimed at identifying indigenous and local communities’ rights and
responsibilities in PA management. Key focus areas included moving towards
co-management of PAs, and recognizing the full range of CCAs within and
outside government-designated PAs.

Participants addressed the theme over more than 20 sessions, including
on: governance of PAs; PAs and poverty; the role of communities and mobile
peoples in sustaining linkages in the landscape and seascape; tourism and
communities; customary law and governance; meeting communities’ needs in
management effectiveness evaluation; the need for comprehensive PA systems;
creating co-existence between humans and wildlife; empowering the rural poor
for PA conservation and management; governance and State recognition of
communities’ territories and resources; constraints and viability of
territories and resources traditionally conserved by mobile peoples;
developing capacity for site-level planning, management and monitoring;
tenure arrangements and indigenous rights; livelihoods, agro-biodiversity
and landscape conservation for communities’ territories and resources;
territories and resources traditionally conserved by mobile peoples in
partnership with governments; incentives for conservation and fair reward
for stewardship; the shift from conflict to collaboration for territories
and resources conserved by communities in partnership with governments and
other stakeholders; communities’ role in sustainable finance; culture,
rights, legislation, policy and capacities for effective community
conservation; and a new dimension for the classification of PAs.

The stream’s main recommendations included: moving existing
government-designated PAs towards collaborative management by full and
equitable communities’ participation in decision making; recognizing CCAs as
a legitimate and effective tools for conservation; addressing restitution of
rights, responsibilities and compensation at the national and international
levels, including through the establishment of a truth and reconciliation
commission; integrating cultural diversity and survival as key objectives
and strategies for PAs; distributing PA costs and benefits more equitably,
through securing local livelihoods and revenues, and encouraging
ecologically and culturally sensitive tourism; focusing on the needs of
disadvantaged people, including mobile and indigenous peoples, the landless,
and women and youth.

The theme adopted four recommendations on indigenous peoples and PAs,
co-management of PAs, CCAs, and mobile indigenous peoples and conservation.

Gary Machlis, University of Idaho, US, and Nyambe Nyambe, University of
Natal, South Africa, presented the results of the delegates’ survey that
took place during the WPC, regarding the different aspects of PA management.
They indicated that the response rate was 20%. Noting differences among
regions, they said inadequate funding, leadership and enforcement were
identified as key barriers to PA management, and that inappropriate adjacent
land use was considered a threat to PA resources. They said delegates
mentioned innovations and increased knowledge sharing and data availability
as positive developments regarding PA management.

On recognizing the importance of PAs, Carabias called for awareness
raising on ways to improve rural sustainability, and stressed the value of
traditional knowledge. She called for community initiatives, and for the
diversification of legal frameworks, planning and management.

On innovations for delivering quality PA management, Bakarr said
standardized procedures are required to evaluate the effectiveness of
diverse management strategies.

On local communities, Carabias said that recognizing community rights is
key to strengthening their capacity to identify and solve their needs.

Regarding the equitable sharing of PA costs and benefits, Bakarr noted
the need to identify the value of PAs to society, and their impact on
communities. Stressing that only 20% of PA management costs are met, he said
participants recommended increasing funding by US$ 15 billion, expanding
funding sources, and removing barriers to funding.

On partnerships, Carabias said new governance models and different types
of partnerships are required.

On filling the gaps in the PA network, Bakarr identified inadequate
coverage at species, habitat and ecosystem levels. Regarding necessary
innovations, he emphasized evaluating management effectiveness and ensuring
that technical tools to increase understanding of biophysical changes are
accessible.

On linking PAs into wider development objectives, Carabias stressed the
need for regulatory frameworks.

Bakarr highlighted the benefits of technologies, but suggested that the
threats posed by technological innovations to ecological processes should be
addressed.

In relation to international cooperation, Carabias called for synergies
between related treaties, noting the potential of PAs to offer those
synergies. She outlined other areas for cooperation, including: NGOs’
contribution to long-term governmental strategies; the PALNet; World
Heritage sites; mobile peoples; and transboundary PAs.

McNeely asked participants to consider issues for the next WPC,
including: best practices and indicators for PA management; expansion of the
global PA system; ecological integrity in the face of climate change,
invasive species, and conflict; and cohesion between scientific and
traditional knowledge.

Alfred Oteng-Yeboah, Chair of the CBD Subsidiary Body on Scientific,
Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA), briefly presented the 32 WPC
recommendations. The Plenary then acknowledged all the recommendations.

Estherine Lisinge Fotabong, WWF and WCPA, outlined the main structure of
the Durban Accord, including: progress since the last WPC; future concerns
and challenges; and required commitments and actions. She said the Accord
incorporates inputs from workshop streams and discussions held with, among
others, the African Group, indigenous peoples, and youth. The Plenary
adopted the Durban Accord and Action Plan by acclamation.

Peter Schei, Chair of the Message to the CBD drafting group, said the
Message outlines key priorities, including: addressing gaps and deficiencies
in the PA network; generating benefits beyond boundaries; developing tools
and mobilizing resources; and measuring management effectiveness. The
Plenary adopted the Message by acclamation.

Peter Seligmann, CI, said the international community has a
responsibility to provide technical, political, educational and financial
support for PA establishment and management. He urged participants to
challenge the private sector to improve business practice, and provide
financial support, and announced that CI will create a fund to train a new
generation of conservationists.

IMPLEMENTING CONGRESS OUTPUTS: On Wednesday, 17 September, participants
considered implementation of Congress Outputs, under the chairmanship of
Crispian Olver, Director General of the Department of Environmental Affairs
and Tourism of South Africa.

David Sheppard, commended the Congress for its achievements, but stressed
that the major challenge lies in implementation.

In a panel discussion moderated by Mohamed Valli Moosa, South African
Minister for Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Suresh Prabhu, Chair of the
Interlinking of Rivers Commission, India, stressed the need for increased
transnational cooperation and political will, further action for poverty
alleviation, sustainable financial resources, and addressing PAs’ impacts on
populations.

Claude Martin highlighted the high level and wide-ranging participation
at the WPC, and called for further dialogue with extractive industries.

Recalling relevant WSSD commitments, Sweder van Voorst tot Voorst, Dutch
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noted that PAs have become part of the
sustainable development agenda, and stressed the need for integrated poverty
reduction strategies.

Patricia Luna del Pozo, youth representative, called for dialogue to
build partnerships, training for young professionals, and increased youth
involvement in PA management and at the next WPC.

Acknowledging the controversy regarding the extractive industry’s role,
David Richards, ICMM, said that constructive dialogue requires commitment
from all parties.

Anoushiravan Najafi, Deputy to the Vice President of Iran, called for,
inter alia, practical approaches to PA management and the use of traditional
knowledge.

Jannie Lasimbang, Asia Indigenous People Pact, said indigenous
communities have been ignored in the international debate, asked for respect
for customary laws, and advocated community PIC.

Antonio Waldez Goés da Silva, Governor of Amapá State, Brazil, stressed
that biodiversity conservation does not exclude social and economic
development, noting that 70% of the State has been designated as a PA.

Peter Seligmann, CI, called on world leaders to form a political
conservation block to encourage increased G-8 funding, and said that
environmental protection requires more than addressing health and poverty
issues.

Calling for increased PA quality rather than quantity, Carlos Manuel
Rodriguez, Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, said the costs
of PA establishment are not equitably distributed between developing and
developed countries.

Denise Hamú, IUCN, urged participants to communicate the Congress
Outcomes to people. Noting that communication begins with listening, she
introduced a video in which participants described how they would use the
information and knowledge generated at the WPC for capacity building,
lobbying, and informing the public. Hamú announced an IUCN commitment, in
cooperation with several other organizations, to building capacity on, and
communicating, the outcomes of the WPC.

Achim Steiner, IUCN Director General, thanked the host country and the
organizers. He highlighted the contributions of Kenton Miller, WCPA, and
David Sheppard, IUCN, and presented a plaque to Mohamed Valli Moosa in
recognition of his life-time contribution to South Africa.

Plodprasop Suraswadi, Thai Ministry for Natural Resources and
Environment, invited participants to the Third World Conservation Congress
in Bangkok, Thailand, scheduled for 17-25 November 2004. Participants then
viewed a short video, prepared by the IUCN Commission on Communication and
Education, featuring WCP participants.

Jacob Zuma, Deputy President of South Africa, said the WPC has laid the
foundation for a new paradigm in conservation, where synergies between
conservation and development are recognized, and benefits from PAs shared
beyond boundaries and across societies, cultures and generations. Noting
that PA management needs to be innovative, adaptive, and based on indigenous
and scientific knowledge, he said the new paradigm would enable new
financial and income generating strategies. Identifying protection of the
African environment as one of NEPAD’s priorities, he drew attention to the
Durban Consensus on African Protected Areas for the New Millennium.

Olver closed the meeting at 4:55 pm.

CONGRESS OUTPUTS

DURBAN ACCORD AND ACTION PLAN: Prior to the WPC, drafts of the Durban
Accord and Durban Action Plan were drawn up by a Task Group that included
representatives from different countries and constituencies. Following an
open consultation from 1-25 July 2003, a drafting group reviewed and
incorporated comments into the draft texts, which were distributed to WPC
participants at the Congress. Participants had the opportunity to submit
comments and suggestions during drop-in sessions at the WPC. The Durban
Accord and Action Plan were subject to debate within the different workshops
and in a plenary session on Saturday, 13 September. Both documents were
adopted by acclamation in the closing Plenary on Wednesday, 17 September.

Durban Accord: The Durban Accord is the umbrella document and the
principle message from the Congress to the world. The development of the
Accord began in Albany, Australia, in 1997, and continued at other
international and regional conservation events.

The Accord proposes a new paradigm for PAs that integrates conservation
goals with sustainable development in an equitable way. Celebrating the
diversity of nature and cultures, the multiple benefits from PAs, and
successes in their conservation, the Accord highlights a number of concerns,
including: inadequate PA coverage, particularly for marine and freshwater
ecosystems; a lack of recognition of the conservation efforts of local
communities and mobile and indigenous peoples; a decline in wild areas
outside PAs; parks on paper, not in practice; island PAs; and threats from
human-induced climate change. The Accord raises the concern that development
plans overlook PAs, that costs are local and benefits worldwide, and that
perverse subsidies encourage resource over-exploitation in and around PAs.
Regarding resources, the Accord notes inaccessible conservation funds, an
annual funding gap of US$ 25 billion, inadequate diffusion of technology,
knowledge and best practice models, and the insufficient capacity of younger
generations.

The Accord urges a commitment to: promote the role of PAs in implementing
other international development and conservation agreements; ensure that
globalization and trade agreements do not hinder PA objectives; establish
and strengthen transparent and accountable legal and institutional
frameworks; and expand and strengthen PA networks, and achieve adequate
representation. It also urges extractive industries to fulfill their
responsibilities for the careful stewardship of PAs.

Regarding the establishment and management of PAs, the Accord urges a
commitment to: build resilience against climate change; implement adaptive
and innovative strategies; recognize and support CCAs; promote stakeholder
participation in decision making; and employ scientific and traditional
knowledge. The Accord further urges commitments to mobilizing resources for
the African Protected Area Initiative and Trust, and the maintenance and
enhancement of PAs.

Regarding PAs’ interface with people, the Accord urges a commitment to:
recognize the integral relationship of people with PAs; involve local
communities, indigenous and mobile peoples in PA establishment and
management; engage younger generations in PA stewardship; and promote
communication and education. The Accord also urges commitment to: economic
valuation of benefits from PAs; diversification of income generation
strategies; redirection of perverse strategies; capacity building;
mainstreaming of PAs within overall development agendas; poverty reduction;
and distribution of benefits within local communities and indigenous
peoples.

Durban Action Plan: The Durban Action Plan is directed at all people
engaged in PAs. It provides a checklist of the activities needed to increase
PAs’ benefits to society and to improve their coverage and management.
Recognizing variations in approaches and the lack of a formal mandate, the
Action Plan raises issues that may need to be addressed, and suggests
actions to be taken at all levels through partnerships.

Key outcomes include: the fulfillment of PAs’ critical role in global
biodiversity conservation; the implementation of PAs’ fundamental role in
sustainable development; a global system of PAs linked to landscapes and
seascapes; improved quality, effectiveness and reporting of PA management;
recognition of the rights of local communities, and indigenous and mobile
peoples; the empowerment of younger generations; increased support for PAs
from other constituencies; improved forms of governance, recognizing both
traditional and innovative approaches; and increased resources for PAs.
Advocating improved communication and education on the role and benefits of
PAs, the final key outcome addresses outreach from the WPC, and includes a
section on active multi-level participation and cooperation for
implementation of the Action Plan. Under each outcome, key targets and
specific actions are identified.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Prior to the Congress, 29 motions had been
submitted to the WPC Recommendations Preparatory Committee, and made
available for comment. Three new motions were approved in the course of the
WPC, on: preventing and mitigating human-wildlife conflicts; PAs, freshwater
and IRBM frameworks; and the strategic agenda for communication, education
and public awareness for PAs. All motions were discussed in relevant
discussion groups, reviewed and approved in workshop plenary sessions, and
acknowledged in the closing Plenary, on Wednesday, 17 September, 2003.

Strengthening institutional and societal capacities for protected area
management in the 21st century: With Recommendation 5.01, WPC participants
recommend: raising awareness of the value of PAs and the benefits they
provide to society; enhancing a general commitment to support PAs; and
adjusting current policies, laws, planning and management instruments and
institutional frameworks to increase capacity for PA management at all
levels.

Strengthening individual and group capacities for protected area
management in the 21st century: With Recommendation 5.02, WPC participants
recommend that IUCN and the WCPA: promote and support collaborative capacity
development activities; support learning processes within the workplace and
community settings, building on traditional knowledge; support the
enhancement of capacity for PA managers, indigenous communities and other
stakeholders; and encourage the full participation of communities and
individuals. They recommend that the WCPA moves towards common standards of
competency and coordinate a consortium of organizations to build awareness
and training. They also recommend ways for maintaining high levels of
commitment and performance by PA staff, and that the IUCN Task Force on
Capacity Building elaborate an action plan for the next 10 years.

Protected Areas Learning Network: With Recommendation 5.03, WPC
participants recommend institutional support for the proposed PALNet; the
establishment of a Steering Committee for PALNet; scientific, technical and
policy support from the WCPA; and consideration of fund-raising strategies.

Building comprehensive and effective protected area systems: With
Recommendation 5.04, WPC participants urge governments, NGOs and local
communities to maximize the representation and conservation of biodiversity
in comprehensive PA networks in all eco-regions by 2012, focusing on
threatened and under-represented ecosystems and species. They also set
specific targets regarding in situ conservation of endangered and globally
threatened species, and conservation of representations of every
terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystem. They further urge CBD Parties
to adopt a strong work programme, to consider legal mechanisms on PAs at
COP-7 and to ensure the establishment of a representative global network of
PAs, and call on governments, donors and stakeholders to provide financial
support for the expansion of the PA global network and the effective
management of existing PAs. They also urge governments to: use international
instruments and national legislation to enhance PA protection; develop and
implement legislation to conserve biodiversity; promote the socioeconomic
and cultural benefits of PAs; and take full account of the rights, interests
and aspirations of indigenous peoples.

Climate change and protected areas: With Recommendation 5.05, the WPC
urges governments to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations by implementing
policies that will lead to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, including
the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. Participants recommend: curtailing
consumption of carbon-based fuels; regional analyses of the impact of
climate change on PAs; establishing a global financing mechanism to cover
additional costs for PAs; and including concepts of resilience and adaptive
management of PAs. They recommend that the WCPA expand partnerships and
deepen expertise on adapting PAs to global change, and communicate best
practices regarding methods to anticipate and adapt to global change.

Strengthening mountain protected areas as a key contribution to
sustainable mountain development: With Recommendation 5.06, WPC participants
endorse the establishment of a network of mountain PAs, and urge IUCN to:
support the IUCN Mountain Initiative Task Force; give particular attention
to implementing the WCPA 2004-2008 Mountain Strategy; engage in the
International Partnership for Sustainable Development in Mountain Regions;
provide leadership to highlight the vital relationship between biodiversity,
mountains and PAs; and provide a forum to advance the concept of peace
parks.

Financial security for protected areas: With Recommendation 5.07, WPC
participants recommend that the international community: operationalize the
WSSD biodiversity goal; ensure that financial mechanisms adopted to increase
PA revenue do not lead to biodiversity degradation; communicate successful
investments in PAs to gain support for PA funding; increase financial flows
through appropriate incentives and support for the implementation of diverse
portfolios of financing mechanisms and cost-effective management approaches;
and ensure proper valuation of the goods and services provided by PAs. They
also recommend: removing policy and institutional barriers to sustainable
financing solutions, ensuring that PAs and the surrounding local and
indigenous communities are granted access to benefits; and significantly
increasing future replenishments of the GEF, and the cost-effectiveness of
PA financing. They urge donors, governments and the private sector to
support the establishment of trust and endowment funds.

Private sector funding of protected areas: In Recommendation 5.08, the
WPC recommends: removing obstacles and enhancing opportunities for
public-private-community partnerships in PA management; developing legal and
financial instruments to implement new partnership arrangements; ensuring
equitable distribution of the returns from PAs; ensuring community
participation in a dialogue with the private sector; promoting business
planning and marketing for PA management; creating business guidelines and
standards to promote good governance and transparency; and ensuring that
responsible parties meet the costs of avoiding, restoring or compensating
for damage to biodiversity. They also call on the WCPA to consider means to
enhance financing opportunities for PAs, and to promote a culture of respect
towards indigenous cultures and values.

Policy linkages between relevant international conventions and programmes
in integrating protected areas in the wider landscape/ seascape: With
Recommendation 5.10, participants recommend that governments, local and
indigenous communities, civil society and NGOs: strengthen their involvement
with the Ramsar Wetlands Convention, the World Heritage Convention and the
UNESCO-Man and the Biosphere Network of Biosphere Reserves, and promote
their harmonized implementation regarding PA identification and management;
ensure consistency with the implementation of the WSSD action plan and with
the CBD; and use the linkages between these instruments to ensure that
actions are coordinated with activities in the surrounding
landscape/seascape. Participants also recommend that governing bodies of
relevant international instruments and programmes promote linkages in the
landscape/seascape in their implementation plans and programmes.

A global network to support the development of transboundary conservation
initiatives: With Recommendation 5.11, WCP participants recommend:
supporting the establishment of an international forum to act as a global
network for transboundary conservation initiatives; developing and applying
a programme to develop tools for these initiatives, and a programme to
monitor and evaluate transboundary conservation of all types; and developing
an international enabling framework and international register of
transboundary PAs, and recommending their recognition through joint
nominations to conventions such as Ramsar, World Heritage and the MAB
programme.

Tourism as a vehicle for conservation and support of protected areas:
With Recommendation 5.12, participants recommend that the tourism sector
work together with PA managers and communities to ensure that tourism
associated with PAs: respects PAs’ role in conservation; makes financial
contributions to conservation and PA management; contributes to economic
development and poverty reduction; encourages appropriate behavior by
visitors; uses ecologically and culturally appropriate technologies,
facilities and materials; monitors, reports and mitigates negative impacts;
communicates the benefits of PAs; and promotes the use of guidelines, codes
of practice and certification programmes. Participants also recommend that:
key decision makers work with the conservation community to ensure that
tourism supports the sustainable use of natural and cultural heritage and
local and indigenous community development and economic opportunities.
Participants urge international and national agencies, local authorities and
the private sector to support research and development to, inter alia:
understand the link between tourism, conservation and community development;
establish reliable data on PA tourism; promote appropriate monitoring and
evaluation; provide appropriate tourism training for PA personnel; and
develop tools and techniques for sustainable PA tourism-supported finance.

Cultural and spiritual values of protected areas: With Recommendation
5.13, the WPC acknowledges indigenous peoples’ rights to, inter alia, own
and control their sacred places, archaeological and cultural heritage,
ceremonial objects and human remains contained within or adjacent to PAs.
Participants recommend recognition of and respect for those rights in
relation to conservation activities, and suggest that governments, inter
alia: promote and adopt laws and policies that foster multicultural
approaches to PA systems and that recognize the effectiveness of CCAs; and
adopt and enforce laws and policies with the full and effective
participation and consent of concerned communities, and that guarantee the
restitution of sacred places. They also recommend: ensuring that PA systems
give balanced attention to spiritual values, assisting indigenous and
traditional peoples in obtaining legal and technical support; developing
awareness-raising campaigns; and requesting PA managers to identify and
recognize sacred places, promote intercultural dialogue with local
communities, and support community efforts to maintain their values and
practices. Participants further request IUCN to review the 1994 Protected
Area Category Guidelines to include these values as potential management
objectives.

Cities and protected areas: With Recommendation 5.14, WPC participants
recommend that conservation agencies, NGOs, local authorities and local
communities recognize both the importance of PAs to people in cities, and
the interdependence of cities and PAs, and strengthen the capacity of PA
communities to preserve and restore natural areas in and near cities. They
also recommend that the WCPA incorporates an urban dimension in its
activities, and that IUCN, inter alia: incorporates urban dimensions into
the Inter-sessional Programme Framework for 2005-2008; links biodiversity
conservation to human settlements; develops partnerships with key
organizations engaged in urban development; and develops tools to assist
urban managers in incorporating ecosystem management approaches to urban
planning.

Peace, conflict and protected areas: With Recommendation 5.15,
participants recognize that peace is a fundamental precondition for the
conservation of biological and cultural diversity, and that PAs can foster
peace within and across borders. Participants recommend: the recognition
that PA management is influenced by conflict dynamics; the development of
capacity for international rapid response; ensuring that humanitarian relief
efforts minimize negative effects on PAs; and the development of management
tools to monitor and evaluate impacts of conflict and peace on PAs. They
also recommend the implementation of international and national instruments
to strengthen protection of World Heritage sites and other PAs in times of
conflict, and the adequate training, protection and management of field
staff. Participants call on donors to provide continuous funding and
assistance, and on the international community to continuously engage local
communities in PA management, benefit sharing, and the provision of
alternative livelihoods. They recommend support for prompt action to
rehabilitate PAs after conflict. Participants also recommend the
establishment of a Task Force to identify instruments enabling international
response, neutral status for PA personnel, and guidelines for good practice.

Good governance of protected areas: With Recommendation 5.16, WPC
participants: endorse the importance of governance as a key concept for PAs;
recognize that PA governance should reflect and address relevant social,
ecological, cultural, historical and economic factors; adopt legitimacy and
voice, accountability, performance, fairness and direction as general
principles of good PA governance; and encourage and improve PA managers’
capacity to apply good governance principles in implementing the ecosystem
approach and in dealing with global change. Participants also call on CBD
COP-7 to address good governance in the PAs programme of work, in particular
with regard to capacity-building needs.

Recognizing and supporting a diversity of governance types for protected
areas: In Recommendation 5.17, WPC participants: recommend that governments
and civil society recognize the legitimacy and importance of a range of
governance types for PAs; request the WCPA to refine its PA categorization
system to include a governance dimension, which recognizes
government-managed, co-managed, privately-managed, and community-managed PAs;
urge the Chairs of the IUCN’s Commissions to establish an inter-Commission
working group on PA governance to develop a comprehensive programme of work;
and call on the CBD Parties to recognize the legitimacy of all governance
types, adopt legal and policy measures to reinforce the management
effectiveness and good governance attributes of these governance types, and
undertake initiatives to strengthen relevant institutional and human
capacities.

Management effectiveness evaluation to support protected area management:
Through Recommendation 5.18, WPC participants: affirm the importance of
monitoring and evaluation of management effectiveness as a basis for
improved PA management, and more transparent and accountable reporting. They
call on states and PA managers to adopt systems for evaluating management
effectiveness; recommend that the IUCN Quadriennal Programme Framework for
2005-2008 fosters cooperation with relevant partners to undertake a work
programme on management effectiveness; and call for community involvement in
management effectiveness evaluation, and inclusion of an analysis of the
impact of PAs on communities and the effectiveness of their involvement in
management. They further recommend that: funding bodies promote the use of
transparent, appropriate and credible management effectiveness evaluation in
PAs; the WCPA work to investigate options for certification; the CBD Parties
include policies and actions relating to evaluation of management
effectiveness in their policies and the work programme on PAs; and the
Secretariats of relevant conventions adopt a consistent reporting framework
that incorporates the results of management effectiveness evaluation.

declare that the purpose of the IUCN PA management categories system
is to provide an internationally recognized conceptual and practical
framework for the planning, management and monitoring of PAs;

reaffirm that in the application of the management categories, IUCN’s
definition of a PA must always be met as an overarching criterion, and
that IUCN should reinforce its efforts to promote understanding of the
full range of IUCN categories;

advise that the new application of the system requires that IUCN
produce a revised edition of the 1994 guidelines;

urge IUCN to develop a monitoring and research programme on the use of
the categories;

further urge IUCN to work with CBD Parties to secure
inter-governmental recognition of the IUCN PA management categories system
and the use of the system as a basis for national data collection and
reporting, and Ramsar Convention Parties to promote application of the
categories to the Global Network of Wetlands of International Importance;
and

recommend that IUCN’s Inter-sessional Programme Framework for
2005-2008 accommodate a programme of work to further develop and promote
the IUCN PA categories system.

Preventing and mitigating human-wildlife conflicts: In Recommendation
5.20, WPC participants recommend: supporting the establishment of an
international forum to act as a global network for addressing human-wildlife
conflict issues; strengthening the capacity of PA managers, communities and
stakeholders to prevent and mitigate human-wildlife conflicts; ensuring
cooperation between programmes addressing human-wildlife conflicts in
politically unstable areas; and encouraging funding organizations to
allocate adequate funds to support programmes targeted at preventing and
mitigating human-wildlife conflicts.

World Heritage Convention: With Recommendation 5.21, WPC participants
declare their support for the World Heritage Convention, encourage countries
that have not done so to join the Convention, and note with appreciation the
action of the ICMM and Shell in declaring that they will treat World
Heritage sites as "no-go" areas. They call on the international community
to: give special protection to World Heritage sites in regions affected by
war and civil unrest; and complete the assessment of potential World
Heritage natural sites, and reinforce the goals of the Convention and the
governance, effective management and conservation of World Heritage areas.
They further call on UNESCO, MEA secretariats and the IUCN to seek further
synergies and integration between their programmes.

Building a global system of marine and coastal protected areas networks:
With Recommendation 5.22, WPC participants call on the international
community to establish by 2012 a global system of effectively managed,
representative networks of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas (MCPA),
consistent with international law and based on scientific information that:
greatly increases the marine and coastal area managed in MPAs; includes
strictly protected areas that amount to at least 20-30% of each habitat; is
designed to be resilient; integrates MPAs with other ocean, coastal, and
land governance policies; engages stakeholders in MPA design, planning,
management, and benefit sharing; implements best available, science-based
measures consistent with international law; builds the best available
science on connectivity into MCPA network design; and sets performance
objectives to meet fisheries, biodiversity, habitat stabilization and
societal needs.

Recommendation 5.22 also calls for implementation of an ecosystem
approach to sustainable fisheries management and marine biodiversity
conservation through: integrated MPAs; recognition of MPA networks as an
integral component in sustainable fisheries management; fostering an ongoing
dialogue with the fisheries sector to develop mutual understanding and
knowledge transfer; the designation of MPAs as a strategy for recovery of
depleted fish stocks, reduction of coastal pollution, and conservation and
restoration of biodiversity; the precautionary approach; and setting
performance objectives.

Protecting marine biodiversity and ecosystem processes through marine
protected areas beyond national jurisdiction: In Recommendation 5.23, WPC
participants recommend that the international community:

utilize available mechanisms and authorities to establish and
effectively manage, by 2008, at least five ecologically significant and
globally representative high seas MPAs (HSMPAs) incorporating strictly
protected areas, to enhance the conservation of marine biodiversity,
species and ecosystems;

establish a global system of effectively managed, representative MPA
networks by taking immediate action to protect the biodiversity and
productivity of vulnerable high seas ecosystems and large-scale,
persistent oceanographic features known to support marine life and
containing critical habitat for species, and also by developing mechanisms
to protect non-target species threatened by high seas fishing;

cooperate to develop a global framework to facilitate the
establishment of a global system building on the UN Convention on the Law
of the Sea (UNCLOS), CBD, UN Fish Stocks Agreement, Convention on
Migratory Species and other relevant instruments.

ceasing all voluntary resettlement and expulsion of indigenous peoples
in connection with PAs, or making mobile peoples involuntarily sedentary;

ensuring that the establishment of PAs is based on the free PIC of
indigenous peoples, and on prior social, economic, cultural and
environmental impact assessments undertaken with the full participation of
indigenous peoples;

recognizing the value and importance of PAs designated by indigenous
peoples as a sound basis for securing and extending the PA network;

establishing and enforcing appropriate laws and policies to protect
the intellectual property of indigenous peoples, including traditional
knowledge, innovation systems, and cultural and biological resources, and
to penalize all biopiracy activities;

enacting laws and policies that recognize and guarantee indigenous
peoples’ rights over their ancestral lands and waters;

establishing and implementing mechanisms to address historical
injustices caused by the establishment of PAs, to ensure the restitution
of indigenous peoples’ lands, territories and resources taken over by PAs
without their free PIC, and to provide prompt and fair compensation;

establishing a high-level, independent Commission on Truth and
Reconciliation on Indigenous Peoples and Protected Areas;

developing and promoting incentives to support indigenous peoples’
self-declared and self-managed PAs and other conservation initiatives to
protect the territories and resources from external threats and
exploitation; and

ensuring that PAs are geared towards poverty alleviation around and
within PAs.

Participants further recommend that IUCN and WCPA: formulate and carry
out the work programme to support indigenous peoples’ initiatives and
interests regarding PAs; provide support and funding to indigenous peoples
for community conserved, co-managed and indigenous-owned and managed PAs;
and consider the establishment of an IUCN Commission on Indigenous Peoples
and PAs.

Co-management of protected areas: With Recommendation 5.25, WPC
participants recommend: supporting the review, consolidation and
strengthening of existing experiences of PA co-management; promoting
stakeholder participation in decision making concerning PA management, with
particular regards to indigenous, mobile and local communities and
disadvantaged groups; creating or strengthening legal and policy frameworks
to enable PA co-management; undertaking programmes to develop and strengthen
institutional and human capacities for PA co-management; promoting
participatory action-research in co-managed PAs; and calling on CBD COP-7 to
address co-management issues in the programme of work for PAs.

Community conserved areas: With Recommendation 5.26, WPC participants
recommend that governments: recognize CCAs as a legitimate form of
biodiversity conservation; facilitate the continuation of existing CCAs;
respect the importance of CCAs for communities, and apply the principles of
PIC and participatory environmental impact assessment; and support
self-monitoring and evaluation of CCAs by relevant communities. They also
recommend that communities: commit to conserving CCAs’ biodiversity; extend
the CCA network; respond to forces that threaten CCAs; recognize CCAs’
ecological, cultural and other values; seek public recognition; and commit
to developing internal accountability mechanisms. They further call on
international organizations to recognize CCAs, promote them in appropriate
work programmes, and integrate them into the IUCN PA category system.

Mobile indigenous peoples and conservation: With Recommendation 5.27, WPC
participants recommend: ensuring mobile peoples’ rights to co- and self-
manage their lands; recognizing mobiles peoples’ collective and customary
rights, and CCAs; facilitating cross-border mobility; promoting adaptive
management approaches; respecting traditional knowledge; recognizing mobile
peoples’ rights to the restitution of their lands; and promoting
cross-cultural dialogue and conflict resolution within and between mobile
and sedentary people around and in PAs. They further urge governments to
approve the UN Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and to
ratify and implement the International Labour Organization 169.

Protected areas: mining and energy: With Recommendation 5.28, WPC
participants recognize that IUCN World Conservation Recommendation 2.82
(Amman, Jordan, 2000), taken together with IUCN Resolutions on Indigenous
Peoples, can serve as a guide for testing the commitment of mining and
energy companies to PA conservation and management. They also recognize that
some elements of both the conservation community and the extractive industry
have expressed a commitment to conserve biodiversity and maintain some PAs,
and that those elements wish to continue their dialogue and make it more
inclusive, while many people in the conservation community strongly oppose
this dialogue.

Poverty and protected areas: With Recommendation 5.29, WPC participants
note that PAs should contribute to poverty reduction, and call for:
integrating PAs into broader sustainable development planning agendas;
conserving biodiversity both for its value as a local livelihood resource
and as a public good; equitable benefit sharing; fully compensating affected
communities; and incorporating a gender perspective in PA governance.
Participants also recommend developing inclusive government for PA
management, based on: building partnerships with poor communities and
empowering them to participate in decision making; developing pro-poor
mechanisms to reward environmental stewardship; respecting customary
ownership and access rights; and improving accountability and transparency
in decision making. They also recommend that governments and development
partners consider how to maximize the contribution of PAs to sustainable
development, and that CBD Parties: develop guidelines on PA management and
ensure that national biodiversity strategies and action plans are aligned
with poverty reduction schemes; and extend the principle of equitable
benefit sharing to include all biodiversity components.

Africa’s protected areas: With Recommendation 5.30, WPC participants
endorse the African Ministers’ decision to adopt the NEPAD environment
Action Plan and to establish the African Protected Areas Initiative and
Trust Fund, and recommend that the international community support their
objectives. They also endorse and support the Durban Consensus on Africa’s
Protected Areas in the New Millennium.

Protected areas, freshwater and integrated river basin management
frameworks: With Recommendation 5.31, WPC participants call upon
governments, local and indigenous communities and civil society to, inter
alia: undertake systematic assessments of the development benefits of
freshwater PAs; support the establishment and implementation of IRBM;
consider mountain, forest, agricultural, dry and sub-humid lands, inland
water and coastal ecosystems as part of IRBM-based PA systems; establish and
enforce environmental policies explicitly protecting the ecological
integrity of freshwater ecosystems; and harmonize implementation of
international environmental conventions and national policies relating to
biodiversity conservation and sustainable use.

The Recommendation also requests the UN to extend the Year of Freshwater
to a Decade of Freshwater, and promotes transboundary declarations of PAs
under an appropriate international instrument.

Strategic agenda for communication, education and public awareness for
protected areas: With Recommendation 5.32, WPC participants recommend, inter
alia: working towards a common agenda for communication for PAs at all
levels; ensuring that adequate funding for communication is included in PA
budgets; developing institutional capacity and professional skills for
effective use of strategic communication; developing a participatory
approach to the public, communities and other stakeholders, empowering them
to collaborate in PA management; recognizing that communication must be
research-based, monitored for effectiveness, evaluated for impact and linked
to PA objectives; and using communication tools to build the capacity of
local communities to promote sustainable use of biodiversity in a PA
context.

MESSAGE TO THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY: The WPC Message
to the CBD synthesizes the discussions and proposals of Congress
participants, especially those proposals contained in the Durban Action
Plan, with the purpose of providing specific recommendations to CBD COP-7
for the development of the CBD work programme on PAs.

A draft Message was prepared drawing from the revised draft of the Durban
Action Plan, and was the subject of protracted discussions and revisions in
relevant workshop streams and drafting sessions.

WPC participants agreed on the following statements: biodiversity and
ecosystem services are essential to sustainable development; the CBD is an
indispensable element to ensure the continued provision of ecosystem
services; a representative and effectively managed PA system is crucial to
achieving the CBD objectives and the target of a significant reduction in
biodiversity loss by 2010; and the Congress acknowledges progress in the
development of PAs globally, but also identifies serious gaps, challenges
and deficiencies.

In the Message, the WPC calls on CBD COP-7 to consider a variety of
actions. On planning, selecting, establishing and managing PA systems, the
WPC calls on the COP to, inter alia: adopt specific targets and timetables;
address the severe under-representation of MPAs in the global PA system;
promote the development of national and regional ecological networks,
corridors and transboundary PAs; apply the ecosystem approach to the
planning and management of all PAs; and address global change adaptation
measures.

On benefits, equity and participation, the WPC calls on the COP to, inter
alia, ensure that indigenous and mobile peoples, local communities, women
and youth fully participate in the establishment and management of PAs, and
share in the benefits arising from them.

On enabling activities, the Congress calls on the COP to take specific
actions relating to capacity building, financial support, governance and
policy, and assessment, monitoring and reporting.

The Default_XREF_styleREFWPC Message to the CBD was approved by the
closingDefault_XREF_styleREF Plenary, on Wednesday, 17 September, and will
be delivered at the CBD’s SBSTTA-9.

EMERGING ISSUES: During workshop discussions, several issues of
significance were identified that were not covered by the WPC
recommendations. These issues were summarized in a document on Emerging
Issues, and approved by the workshop plenaries for inclusion in the Congress
Proceedings.

The Emerging Issues pertain to: ecological restoration; building support
for PAs through site-based planning; disease and PA management; private PAs;
sustainable hunting, fishing and other wildlife issues; management of
invasive species; gender equity in PA management and conservation; an
amendment to the IUCN definition of MPAs; an immediate moratorium on deep
sea trawling; and the HIV/AIDS pandemic in relation to conservation.

In an Action Plan on private PAs, the WPC recommends that governments and
civil society: strengthen the legal framework, economic incentives, and
institutional capacity for private lands conservation; improve education and
training opportunities for private lands conservation; increase
public-private collaboration in the management and conservation of protected
lands; promote community involvement and sustainable development through
privately owned PAs; and create information networks.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR

WORKSHOP ON SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES AND BIODIVERSITY: The IUCN Port
Cros Symposium on Sustainable Fisheries and Biodiversity, co-organized by
IUCN, TotalFinaElf and the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the
Sea, will be held from 21-23 September 2003, in Porquerolles Island, France.
For more information, contact: Claudiane Chevalier, IUCN; tel:
+34-9-52-028-430; fax: +34-9-52-028-145; e-mail:
claudiane.chevalier@iucn.org;
Internet: http://iucn.org/places/medoffice/eventos/port_cros.htm.

12TH WORLD FORESTRY CONGRESS: The 12th World Forestry Congress
will be held from 21-28 September 2003, in Quebec City, Canada. For more
information, contact: World Forestry Congress 2003 Secretariat; tel:
+1-418-694-2424; fax: +1-418-694-9922; e-mail:
sec-gen@wfc2003.org; Internet: http://www.wfc2003.org.

GLOBAL SUMMIT ON MEDICINAL PLANTS: This meeting, organized by
Bangalore University, will be held from 25-30 September 2003, in Terre
Rouge, Mauritius. For more information, contact: Anita Menon; tel:
+91-80-524-9900; fax: +91-80-542-4592; e-mail:
cenfound@yahoo.co.uk; Internet: http://www.cenfound.org/global/global.html.

AFRICA FOREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AND GOVERNANCE MINISTERIAL MEETING:
This meeting, facilitated by the World Bank, will be held from 13-16 October
2003, in Yaoundé, Cameroon. For more information, contact: Kerstin Canby;
fax: +1-202-614-0475; e-mail: kcanby@worldbank.org; Internet: http://www.worldbank.org/forestry/afleg.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ECO-RESTORATION: This conference,
organized by the Jawaharlal Nehru University, will be held from 14-21
October 2003, in Dehradun and New Delhi, India. For more information,
contact: Professor Brij Gopal, School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal
Nehru University; tel: +91-11-610-7676 ext 2324; fax: +91-11-616-9962/61;
e-mail: brij@nieindia.org; Internet: http://www.nieindia.org/Conference/conf03.htm.

CONFERENCE ON GREENING THE CITY: BRINGING BIODIVERSITY BACK INTO THE
URBAN ENVIRONMENT: This meeting, organized by the Royal New Zealand
Institute of Horticulture, will take place from 21-24 October 2003, in
Christchurch, New Zealand. For more information, contact: David Moyle; tel:
+64-3-358-8914; fax: +64-3-358-1363; e-mail:
d&amoyle@xtra.co.nz; Internet: http://www.rnzih.org.nz/pages/conference2003.htm.

30TH PACEM IN MARIBUS: A YEAR AFTER JOHANNESBURG, OCEAN GOVERNANCE AND
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: OCEAN AND COASTS – A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE:
This meeting, organized by the International Ocean Institute and the
National Commission of Ukraine for UNESCO, will take place from 27-30
October 2003, in Kiev, Ukraine. For more information, contact: Victoria
Radchenko; tel: +380-692-5452-49; fax: +380-692-5554-77; e-mail:
radalpin@ibss.iuf.net; Internet: http://www.30pim.sevinfo.net.

NINTH MEETING OF THE CBD SUBSIDIARY BODY ON SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVICE: CBD SBSTTA-9 will be held from 10-14 November
2003, in Montreal, Canada. For more information, contact: CBD Secretariat;
tel: +1-514-288-2220; fax: +1-514-288-6588; e-mail:
secretariat@biodiv.org;
Internet: http://www.biodiv.org/convention/sbstta.asp.

GLOBAL CONFERENCE ON OCEANS, COASTS, AND ISLANDS: Organized by the
Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts and Islands, this conference will be held in
Paris, France, from 12-14 November 2003. For more information, contact:
Stefano Belfiore or Catherine Johnston, Center for the Study of Marine
Policy, tel: +1-302-831-8086; fax: +1-302-831-3668; e-mail:
sbelf@udel.edu; Internet: http://www.globaloceans.org/globalconference/index.html.

ADVANCED SEMINAR ON PROTECTED AREAS MANAGEMENT AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT
IN THE MEDITERRANEAN CONTEXT: This seminar is being organized by the
Spanish Agency for International Cooperation, with the collaboration of the
IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation. It will be held from 1-14
December 2003, in Malaga, Spain. For more information, contact: Marie Curie;
tel: +34-95-20-28-430; fax: +34-95-20-28-415; e-mail:
uicnmed@iucn.org; Internet: http://www.iucn.org/places/medoffice/eventos/seminario_azahar_EN.htm.

SEVENTH MEETING OF THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES TO THE CBD AND FIRST
MEETING OF THE PARTIES TO THE BIOSAFETY PROTOCOL: CBD COP-7 will be held
from 9-20 February 2004, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It will be followed by
the first Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety,
which will be held from 23-27 February 2004. For more information, contact:
CBD Secretariat; tel: +1-514-288-2220; fax: +1-514-288-6588; e-mail:
secretariat@biodiv.org; Internet:
http://www.biodiv.org/doc/meeting.asp?wg=COP-07 and
http://www.biodiv.org/doc/meeting.asp?wg=MOP-01.

THIRD IUCN WORLD CONSERVATION CONGRESS: The thirdIUCN
World Conservation Congress will be held from 17-25 November 2004, in
Bangkok, Thailand. For more information, contact: Ursula Hiltbrunner, IUCN;
tel: +41-22-999-02-32; fax: +41-22-999-00-20; e-mail:
ursula.hiltbrunner@iucn.org.

Sustainable Developments
is a publication of the International Institute for Sustainable Development
(IISD) <info@iisd.ca>,
publishers of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin ï¿½. This issue is
written and edited by Paula Barrios, Nienke Beintema, Catherine Ganzleben,
Charlotte Salpin, and Elsa Tsioumani. The digital editor is Leila Mead. The
Team Leader is Elsa Tsioumani <elsa@iisd.org>.
The Editor is Lynn Wagner, Ph.D. <lynn@iisd.org>.
The Director of IISD Reporting Services (including Sustainable Developments)
is Langston James "Kimo" Goree VI <kimo@iisd.org>.
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